"Polus, you performed the worst yesterday, the brothers have already started to fight the Gauls, and you are still far behind, affecting the results of our entire squad!"

"Alas, forgive him, it's the first time he's been on the battlefield, and it's normal to be afraid."

"I ...... I'm not scared, it's my leather sandals that have broken straps. ”

"That's a good reason."

"It's really broken!"

"That's also your fault! It has long been stipulated in military law that soldiers should take care of their equipment in peacetime, and shoes are also one of the equipment. Fortunately, yesterday's action was an offensive, and if you retreat, you will be caught by the enemy, and no one will be able to save you at that time. ”

"It's hard to say, maybe Polus will take off his shoes and run faster than we can all while retreating."

"You-"

"Alright, don't talk about it! Aside from falling behind at the beginning, Polus did well in the battles that followed. Brothers, think that the first time we went to war, we were no better than Polus, so don't blame each other. Remember! Our squad is a whole, only by helping each other and fighting side by side like brothers can we defeat the enemy and let ourselves live well! ”

"The captain is right! Let's have a toast together and celebrate yesterday's victory and that none of us were hurt! ”

"!!"

The soldiers shouted and drank their glasses, and the pretty young waitress hurried over to pour them wine.

"Suna, have you thought about it?! Marry me, and when I'm retired, follow me to Turii! That's the greatest city in the world! ......" a soldier spoke out loud with the strength of his wine.

The other soldiers immediately began to heckle.

Although the waitress was a little shy, she had been through it for a living, and she said in a coquettish voice: "Captain Nikapalos, I heard that you have a rule that soldiers are not allowed to marry while they are in service. ”

Nikapalos, of course, was looking at his soldiers, so he said with a straight face: "There is indeed a rule, but you can get engaged first, I heard that several families in our residential area have been engaged to the soldiers of our barracks." ”

"Yes, yes, you can get engaged first!!" The soldier at the table was loudly heckling, and the soldier who said he was going to get married was laughing silly.

The waitress didn't panic too much, her big eyes turned flexibly, and she turned her head to look at the kitchen: "I can't be the master of such an important matter, this has to be said by my father." ”

The tavern owner, who was cutting meat in the kitchen, kept an eye on the situation in the restaurant and immediately shouted in stiff Greek: "No! With that, the cleaver collided with the cutting board and made a louder noise.

One of the soldiers laughed and said, "Koraldas, who told you to get drunk last time, you have to take Suna's hand and offend your future father-in-law." ”

"When did I take Suna's hand?" Corladas looked dazed.

"You were drunk, of course you don't remember. The captain was afraid that you would be confined, so everyone hid it and didn't say anything. ”

Coradas saw that he was telling what he said, so his eyes swept over every teammate, including the captain, and saw that they all had a look of "it is true" on their faces, and his heart was shocked, and finally looked at Suna embarrassedly.

Suna had already taken refuge in the kitchen.

"Suna, this guy dares to bully you, let me teach him a lesson for you!" A man stood up at the table next to him and said loudly, but it was a soldier from another squad.

"It's between me and Suna, it's your shit, get out!"

"Koraldas, they say you're the best soldier in our detachment, but I'm not afraid of you! Today we have a good competition, whoever wins, Suna is whoever! ”

"Come on, come on, you'll be beaten down in a while, don't cry!"

Just when the two soldiers were bumping together and the comrades around them were coaxing, the two squad leaders hurriedly stopped loudly: "Don't make trouble, do you want to be punished by the military judge?!" ”

At the mention of the military judge, the soldiers' exuberant mood suddenly felt like a pot of cold water was poured on them, almost everyone had suffered from his punishment in the military camp career for more than a year, so everyone sat back in their places and drank quietly.

However, Corladas was still a little unwilling, and said indignantly: "Boy, let's have a good competition in the next company's football game to see who is better!" ”

"Compete in competition, who is afraid of whom!" Not to be outdone, the soldier responded.

After a small turmoil subsided, the tavern was still full of laughter and excitement.

After drinking and relaxing, the soldiers would wander the streets of the civilian area and buy some daily necessities from the shops, but before the sun went down, they had to rush back to the barracks to participate in the roll call of the detachment commanders, and if they were late, they would inevitably be punished, whether it was cleaning the toilets, feeding the livestock, going to the bathrooms to boil water, cleaning the streets...... It was hard and tiring work, so under normal circumstances, the soldiers would return to the camp on time.

………………………………………

Most of the credit for the construction of this flat and wide stone avenue that Massimus rode on horseback was due to the soldiers of the Frontier Legion, and the construction of the road was also part of the military training of the Frontier Legion, and the Legion Commander took a lot of time out for the soldiers to build this road for more than a year.

Four months ago the road connected to Florentia, and just last month another road connected to the three barracks, and finally to the port city of Pisai, but the avenue, which was undoubtedly more than ten times as long, was completed by the Etruscan League, which had collected tens of thousands of laborers and worked together under the command of engineers sent by the Ministry of Dionya Construction, all in order to better secure and strengthen the defense of the border.

The training ground is not far from the barracks, next to the civilian area, and it is a large flat grassland that has been groomed and extensive.

On one side of the pasture were dozens of hard wooden stakes more than one person high, and the heavy infantry, under the supervision and guidance of the officers, armed with long shields and bayonet spears (or short swords), repeatedly practiced stabbing (or slashing) at the stakes. On the other side of the pasture, there were many targets, and the light infantry practiced bows and arrows and javelins.

In front of the most marginal target, a man wearing a purple and red crowned helmet was throwing a javelin, and he stumbled a few steps, roared, and threw it with all his might, and the javelin flew a distance of 50 meters, penetrating the thick wooden target.

Behind him stood several men who were also wearing the armor of a senior officer, cheering loudly, and the other soldiers seemed to be accustomed to it, and no one cast a curious look.

Even if Massimus couldn't see the javelin-man's face, he knew that it was Hasdruba, the commander of the Frontier Legion, and the commander of the Carthaginian army always liked to go down in person and lead by example in training, so he was very respected by the soldiers.

Massimus jumped off his horse, readjusted his helmet and cuirass, and headed straight for the training ground of the light infantry.

The armory keeper, who was guarding the piles of javelins and arrows next to him, saw Massimus' arrival and immediately took the initiative to greet him: "Good morning, Lord Massimus! ”

"After yesterday's battle, did you consume a lot of weapons?" Massimus asked bluntly.

"Nothing to consume, my lord." The custodian replied: "I heard that there were not many Gauls who attacked Florentia yesterday, and our troops arrived in time, and the Gauls were still looting in the villages, so the officers directly sent a heavy infantry company to attack, and did not use light infantry, and the battle ended quickly, and the soldiers' armor and weapons were not greatly damaged, and no one has applied for a replacement of armor weapons until now." ”

Massimus nodded and asked, "Is there a catch?" ”

"Two Gallic helmets, five great swords, 14 wooden shields, 25 spears, 19 sets of Gallic clothing, and they have captured 4 Gauls......" The custodian paused and whispered: "Early in the morning, the treasurer came, and he said, 'We don't need any of these things, he will take them all and sell them to the merchants.'" I said, 'I can't be the master, I have to get your approval.' ’”

At the time of the Persian Expeditionary Force, the mercenaries included those who specialized in finances, a position that was retained until the formation of the Dionian League. After the establishment of the kingdom, the logistics system of the legions was more perfect, and the legionnaires were all citizens of the kingdom, so each legion no longer had the position of treasurer, and the booty obtained was handed over to the baggage battalion for temporary safekeeping, and finally the quartermaster sent by the military department to handle it, or call merchants to auction the loot, or transfer part of the loot to the national treasury. Part of the money thus obtained was used to pay for the soldiers and their families who were killed or wounded in battle, part of it was deposited in the small treasury of the Ministry of War, and part of it was transferred back to the army as a reward for the soldiers' victory.

But the border regiment is different, the soldiers are hired, and they are paid every month, and this money comes from the state treasury, so there is a special financial officer, who is sent by the Ministry of Finance. There was a dispute between the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Finance over who should handle the spoils of the Frontier Legion, but in the end it was decided by Davos and handed over to the Legion's treasurer.

He did this for security reasons, since none of the soldiers of the Frontier Legion were Dionian citizens, and leaving the most important belongings of the soldiers in the hands of the Finance Department officials would prevent the mercenary Legion's affairs from being completely controlled by the Ministry of Military Affairs or the Legion Commander.

It was the duty of the baggage officer to take charge of the spoils of war, but in the Frontier Legion was assigned to the newly created treasurer, Massimus had some opinions, but he was already an agent, and he was not a citizen of Ionia, so he could only bury this dissatisfaction in his heart, and on the surface he got along with the treasurer relatively well.

At this time, he said calmly: "I know about this, you did a good job!" Once we've gone back to the armory and confirmed the loot, you can have the treasurer take them, but we'll have to confirm the amount and have him sign it......"